


Miraculous Knights

by Fantagranate



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Knights, Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/M, Medieval Fights, Miraculous Ladybug - Freeform, Miraculous Ladybug AU, Miraculous Ladybug fantasy AU, Miraculous Ladybug medieval AU, Miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir, medieval knights, medieval romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:22:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27886720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantagranate/pseuds/Fantagranate
Summary: An AU where Marinette is The Red Knight in the medieval/fantasy kingdom of Prix, and nobody except her partner in crime, the Black Knight, knows she’s a woman. As she struggles to keep her identity a secret, maintain her knighthood, and save the kingdom from numerous miscreants, bandits, and traitors, her situation is made even more complicated by feelings that begin to blossom for her partner. Escorting princesses, fighting bad guys, rescuing allies, and thwarting evil plots to overthrow the kingdom are all common occurrences for her, however wrestling, understanding and communicating her feelings may prove her most difficult task.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. An Unwanted Mission

**Author's Note:**

> Hello All,  
> Welcome! This is the first fan fiction I’ve ever published so please go easy on me, I know it’s rough around the edges. I will try and upload one chapter every other week until the story is over, I’m trying to work ahead so that I can keep up with that schedule however don’t hold your breath as I’m terrible at deadlines. Also please don’t mind the pacing and story structure issues, this whole thing is just for fun so it’s not a solid story. Also small disclaimer, I’ve changed Ladybug to Ladybird because I thought it felt more fantasy-esque.  
> So Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this piece! Thank you so much for lending me time out of your day to read my work. <3

The red knight fidgeted in her saddle. With the sun blazing down she felt as though she was baking in her ruby red armor. She heaved a heavier sigh than she intended. Through the narrow slats in her helmet she scanned the procession she was about to be a part of. 

Nearly one hundred guards atop decked out horses, surrounding the most elaborately gilded carriage in the kingdom, all positioned perfectly, centered at the foot of the palace steps. Nothing but the best for the princess, of course. 

She looked up the large staircase, the polished marble steps glimmering in the sun, lined with colourful planters and more shiny guards until finally her eyes came to where the princess herself was descending. Watching the princess descend the long set of palace steps she couldn’t help but compare herself. Everyone looked at the princess with admiration, and sung praises of her beauty. Forever droning on about all the suitors she had and how many hearts she’d won. 

Her figure was perfect, her hair was golden, her skin was light and smooth, and she wore the fanciest of dresses. In a way, the red knight herself wanted to be dainty and beautiful and admired like the princess, but if it were ever known that she were a woman, a baker’s daughter named Marinette, her knighthood would be revoked. And as much as she wanted to be looked at in a way that most every person looked at the princess, she wanted to fight for her kingdom much, much more. 

“Anything wrong M’lady?” 

Her heart lept a little, hearing the deep kind voice over her shoulder of her partner in arms, the black knight. Sat atop his pure black steed, Plagg. Adorned in shiny black armor with a bright green plume so long it looked like a tail. Much larger than her own black plume, but he had more of a flare for dramatics than she did. 

“Would you keep your voice down, you know nobody can know I’m a woman.” she said. Acknowledging with a soft smile, safely hidden behind her helmet visor, that it was nice there was one person who knew, and treated her very much like a woman. 

“What a shame it is though, not to be allowed to properly acknowledge your beauty.” His dramatic flare could be heard through the tone of his voice without seeing the cheesy gestures he was making with his arms. His tone turned more serious again. “...but, is there something wrong?” the concern in his voice touched her heart. 

It baffled her to this day how he could know her so well, always catching even the slightest signs she was upset. It was actually rather infuriating to have someone who felt like they were in your head. 

“No...I’m just restless to get going. She’s taking so long to come down the stairs in that gaudy awful skirt. How could anyone possibly need a skirt that large” she replied. 

“I don’t think it’s so gaudy. It would certainly look lovely on you my little ladybird. That would be a vision I would kill to see.” he joked, using a nickname he had been calling her since the beginning of their partnership. 

“Why Chat Noir…” she used her corresponding nickname for him “...you should know better than to wish me into a skirt like that. It would make me incapable of saving your skin in battle, as I am often required to do.” 

“I’m quite confident you could save my skin even in that skirt m’lady, your power knows no bounds.” 

“You’re the one who’d be betting your life on it.” she shrugged. 

He chuckled in his pleasant way. A rich low sound that never failed to warm her down to her toes. She had come to refer to it, mind you only in her head and never aloud, as the sunshine chuckle. 

“Well then why don’t I just start pulling more of my own weight, then you wont need to be agile for my sake, so you may wear a nice dress, and we can go on a picnic.” She rolled her eyes. 

“That is, if anything, immensely improbable. As long as you pulling your own weight is your first hurdle I’m afraid you’ll never see me in a dress. Lazy kitty that you are.” 

His sunshine chuckle bubbled to the surface again. She tried to repress her smile and focus on how annoying it was that even when she insulted him to the best of her abilities he never seemed discouraged from pursuing her affections. He seemed perfectly content to be insulted by her again and again. She tutted. 

“And even if you pulled your weight my friend, and I wore a dress, I would never wear one as ridiculous as that. She can’t even go down the damn stairs properly.” She said turning the attention back on the princess. 

“Well…”he tilted his head a little “...it is a lot of stairs.” 

They both lifted their gazes to thoughtfully ponder the sheer amount of steps for the amount of time it took the princess to descend about five of them. 

“I suppose maybe…” he conceded “She should have worn a bit of a smaller skirt. For travel you know.” 

“And we haven’t even started trying to shove her hoops into the carriage yet.” she said absentmindedly. 

The slight jolly guffaw that came from inside his helmet triggered her own snickers, until they were both shaking with suppressed laughter. 

“I guess we shouldn’t laugh at her expense…” he finally said half heartedly, though he was still sighing happily “she is the princess after all.” 

“Oh don’t you go reminding me of that too.” Though he had successfully made her forget her impatient nerves, it was only one comment that brought them back to the forefront “I got quite enough of that from the king today thank you very much. I wouldn’t even be bothering with her pompous ass if she weren’t the princess so believe me, I know!” 

“Woah woah woah m’lady” His tone turned cautionary, and soothing. Immediately she felt bad for snapping at him. “Is that what’s really eating you then?” He prompted. 

She sighed, she knew she would give in and open up to him eventually so she may as well get it over with. 

“There are better things we could be doing with all this time. We’re just here because the princess likes to be flashy. She likes how our armour glitters in the sun. But we’re not babysitters, and we’re not accessories, we’re knights, and we could be helping people right now.” She looked to the palace, “The king just likes to exercise his power by making us bend to his whim, but we’re not needed, look at all these guards, I think she’s pretty well protected. Whereas we are needed elsewhere, there are people who could genuinely use our help. I just want to get it over with.” 

He sighed, but it was an affectionate sounding sigh, and she felt her shoulders relax even before he started speaking. He would think of something to say to calm her, he always did. 

“You m’lady have the most noble heart in the kingdom and I will always admire you for that,” no jokes, only pure adoration “...that being said, protecting the princess is not a job to be taken lightly, nor as a waste of time. You mustn’t be spiteful towards her, try and imagine what she is going through now, on her way to wed a man she has never met. However marrying that man will bring good to her kingdom. You want to be on the street, helping the common people, but that way you can only work one by one. By protecting the princess and making sure she reaches her destination safely to go through with this marriage alliance, we will be helping all of the common people by making the kingdom richer.”

She thought about his words, she knew he was right, and although she was still itching to get moving her nerves were calm. She simply nodded at him, and he nodded back. She could tell he was watching her and smiling under his helmet, though she couldn’t see his face, she could always tell. 

The princess arrived at the bottom of the steps and soon she was tucked away in the carriage and the fanfares rang out. Trumpets blew and the send off began. 

“Off we go then m’lady, with time to spare it’ll be a lovely ride on a lovely day, we’ll get there and be back in no time, don’t worry so much.” 

She clicked her tongue for Tikki, her own horse, to begin walking. An uneasy feeling arose in her chest at the ease in his tone. 

“I’ll just be glad when this is over” 

And with that they set off for the neighbouring kingdom


	2. A Trunk in the Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's going fine, until it isn't.

The sun was high in the sky when they made it to the woods that separated them from the kingdom of Xazier. It calmed Marinette to be on the move. She sighed and let out the tension in her shoulders. 

Even though she would be glad when the mission was over, that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the pleasant ride. 

Chat was humming along with the birds, the breeze was blowing, keeping them cool. She studied the approaching trees and looked to her partner beside her, relaxed, unbothered by anything, as always. 

“Chat Noir I think we should move back closer to the carriage.” She said. 

He tilted his head slightly as he looked at her.

“Whatever for?” 

“Oh nothing much, it’s just that the path we’re on gets very narrow up here, and the trees get dense, we’ll be quite vulnerable from the sides since there won’t be room for anyone to ride beside the carriage.” 

“Are you worried someone will attack?” He asked skeptically. “With all these men?” 

“I’m more worried that nobody is worried about an attack, it means nobody’s ready, and most of the men will be useless in that stretch of the woods anyway, since we’ll be so bottlenecked, stretched too thin, only the ones right by the carriage will be able to do anything. It doesn’t hurt to take precautions anyway.” 

He still looked relaxed, but he nodded, her words ringing true.

“Fair point M’lady, after you.” 

Neither of them had to tense their reigns for their horses to veer off the path slightly and slow to let the rest of the men pass. In the legends their breed was one that was said to have magic in their veins, and if they had a connection with their rider, they could read their thoughts. Tikki was always so responsive with such little direction that Marinette almost believed it at times. She would be more surprised if her horse didn’t understand her at this point. 

As the procession passed she motioned for Chat to fall back in line directly in front of the carriage, while Marinette allowed it to pass. She observed the princess for no more than a second, but it was enough to make her irritable again. 

The forest began thickening almost as soon as Marinette fell in line behind the carriage. The branches overhead became so thick they blocked out the sun and the wheel ruts became deep. The trees beside the path began closing in until the carriage was brushing the branches on both sides. 

If there did happen to be an attack, this was definitely where it would happen, and if they had stayed as far ahead as they were, they wouldn’t have been able to do much as the guards were packed in treeline to treeline. 

A silence filled the air as the road got darker and darker and you couldn’t see more than ten feet into the trees on either side. The only sounds were the birds, and the rustling leaves. 

The carriage came to a halt and Tikki stopped. She walked to the edge of the carriage and Marrinette leaned around it to try and see. Chat’s helmeted head appeared leaning around the other side. 

“What’s going on?” she said 

“Don’t know, the men in front just stopped. Haven’t heard why yet.” 

“An attack?” 

“I don’t think so, I can’t hear battle.” 

His head disappeared and a feeling of apprehension rose inside her. This has to be it. 

Then the princesses blonde head poked out the window.

“What’s the meaning of this? Why have we stopped?” 

The captain of the guard appeared around the front of the carriage. 

“Your blessedness, there appears to be a fallen tree, please sit tight, we are working on having it removed.” 

Marinette looked to the woods, then to princess Chloe. There was no room for horses beside the carriage, but there were plenty of attack points to which she was completely open. Tikki raised her ears and tensed her head, looking towards the woods. She was on alert, and that was never a good sign. Marinette hopped off Tikki and walked around to the captain of the guard. 

Seeing the lax posture of the guards in the front made her feel even more anxious. She lowered her voice to speak.

“Captain, tell your men to be on guard.” she said 

“Why Sir Red, whatever for?” 

“An attack captain.” 

“Sir Red, have no fear. Nobody in their right mind would attack an entourage with one hundred guards. I assure you” 

She bristled, he was trying to show off, act confident. 

“Captain I am not fearful. I am simply aware of the fact that both of our sides are completely vulnerable to these trees, and if somebody did happen to be out of their right mind today, this is the stretch and opportunity where they would attack. It doesn’t hurt to be vigilant.” 

The captain sputtered, but she left him and walked toward the towering midnight steed, who, like Tikki, stood with his ears alert, ready for something. 

“Noir.” she stopped and looked up at the rider on his back. “I don’t like this.” 

He looked down at her then at the trees where Plagg had fixed his attention. 

“Neither do I, Plagg’s bothered.” 

“Go cover the left side of the carriage, I’ll cover the right. Just until we get moving again, I don’t like being sitting ducks. You’ll have to get off Plagg, there’s no room for him to maneuver over there.” 

He nodded, then walked to the other side of the carriage and hopped off Plagg, disappearing around the team of decorated horses, and then the gilded carriage corner. 

Marinette walked back to her side of the carriage and stood by the door, studying the woods. 

“Sir Red.” the princesses voice startled her and she turned to see the blue eyes of Princess Chloe looking out at her, her head was out the carriage window again. 

“What’s going on? Why are you standing there?” 

Marinette rolled her eyes slightly but lowered her voice to respond anyway. 

“Just precautions your grace.” 

“Wh…?”

Marinette cut the princess off before she could continue, 

“If you wouldn’t mind keeping your head in the carriage your grace, and close this shutter, just in case. Your safety is priority.” 

“Well…” 

Before she could continue an arrow flew from the trees and lodged itself into the side of the carriage right beside both of their heads. Chloe screamed and ducked back into the carriage while Marinette unhooked her chain mace and swung it in time to deflect a volley of arrows that came from the trees, then everything descended into chaos. 

A wall of men came charging from the trees and shouting broke out as swords clashed. It was hard to tell how many there were or how far the fighting extended, as Marinette’s vision became encompassed by her own battle and keeping the men from reaching the door of the carriage. 

Two specifically had locked her in combat, and while her battle abilities were slightly restricted by the trees and carriage that enclosed her, so were her opponents. She knocked one out for another to replace him, and as another emerged from the woods she realized they were swarming. 

A glance through the carriage window to the other side confirmed that Noir was locked in a similar predicament on the other side. The mercenaries only had to occupy the few nearest men to assure that she would receive no back up, and they were doing that quite effectively. 

She ducked to avoid a swinging sword that then got stuck in the wood of the carriage, and swung her mace at the wielder's head. She smashed his head up against the carriage, denting his helmet. 

A thud of footsteps echoed above her and she looked up to see a man on the roof of the carriage, raising an axe. She took a few steps for momentum and jumped, planting her foot against a tree and twisting around, she launched herself towards the roof. She caught the side and pulled herself up. Swinging her legs to knock him off balance then raising into a crouch she planted her feet and swung her mace. He went careening off the roof, just as the crowd of mercenaries were opening the carriage door below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all,  
> Thank you so much again for lending your time to read my work. I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) I'm sorry my chapters are so short, that is likely going to be the rule for this fic rather than the exception, and I just wanted to warn you about that early on.  
> Anyway I hope you all have a great day/night/whatever it is round your part of the world. :) See you next fortnight.


	3. A Princess in Distress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe's Perspective

Chloe screamed as the door to the carriage was thrown open. There were mercenaries there, snarling at her. She shrank as far back as she could into the corner of the small box. As the first man, draped in a ragged hood and holding a sword, stepped onto one of the steps to enter, a body fell from the sky and toppled the whole crew behind him off balance. 

The man looked up as a pair of crimson clad legs wrapped around his neck and swung him off the step and into the pile of fumbling men. Then, the Red knight, Sir Red as they called him, was clamouring into the carriage next to the princess. He grabbed a sword that had been embedded in the outer carriage wall and slammed the door shut, sticking the sword through the handle to barricade it shut as the thugs began banging on the walls. 

Chloe didn’t know quite what to do as the knight abruptly turned around and looked at her. Shoulders heaving slightly as he caught his breath. It was true that chaos was surrounding them, but she still felt she should say something to the man that had her admiration. 

She had looked up to the red knight for as long as he’d been fighting for the good of the kingdom. Since he was just a vigilante in poorly made chain male and a roughly crafted helmet. Faceless to the public, but instantly revered. Now he was the most respected knight in the kingdom, with palace crafted ruby red armour that caught the sun and a black plume that was now hitting the carriage roof. 

“We need to go your majesty,” he said, breaking the silence. 

“What’s happening?” she couldn’t muster anything more than that. Her voice was a pathetic squeak and she berated herself for sounding so pitiful in front of her kingdoms hero. 

“An attack, no doubt.” he said it sarcastically and there was a hint of bitterness. Chloe felt stupid instantly and her mouth opened and closed like a fish as she attempted to process everything that was happening. 

"They can't attack..." She felt the need to say something "...I'm the princess! ...The guards..." She immediately closed her mouth, realizing how stupid she sounded. 

The red knight only stared at her.

"If you'd like to go out there and tell them that, by all means..." his mutter trailed off before he could finish, maybe thinking better of speaking to her that way.

He began attempting to reach the other side of the carriage, to the opposite door, but Chloe’s skirt was filling up all the space in between the carriage seats. She tried to help him pull them out of the way but ultimately there was too much fabric. 

He lost his balance in it all and ended up fumbling and swimming in skirts, tutting until he was finally at the opposite door. She blushed ashamedly at the inconvenience of her damned skirt. 

“NOIR!” He called out the carriage window. 

The door he’d come through cracked, a sign it was close to breaking in.. 

Suddenly Sir Black, appeared in the window. 

“My ladyyy….oooord? My Lord. My Lord?” He said upon seeing the princess. 

“We need to get her out of here. As long as she’s here they’ll get to her eventually, even with all our power we can’t cover all sides.” Red said to him. “Go get Plagg.” 

“He won’t fit…” The Black Knight turned briefly to deflect a sword and his helmet left the frame of the window, some clashes and then a violent thud could be heard from the other side of the carriage wall, and then he reappeared in the window. Sir Red continued as though he never left. 

“Then we’ll forge through with her between us, I’ll go behind with your shield and hold it over her. “ 

“Yes sir.” the black knight left the frame again and Sir Red turned to Chloe once again. 

“Majesty, keep your skirts held up, stay low, and stay close.” he said the order calmly but Chloe’s heart was hammering more with each word. 

“We can’t go out there.”  
Just as she said it the door held shut by the sword collapsed in and a mercenary charged in. 

“We don’t have a choice.” With a whip of his mace Sir Red sent the spiked ball of steel careening into the man’s face and he went flying back out the door. He hastily opened the carriage door and grabbed her arm, launching her head first through the open door. 

She got stuck, of course. Her hoops caught in the little doorway, but Sir Black was right there waiting for her outside. He grabbed her firmly and pulled with a great show of might, ripping her hoops right off from under her skirts. Then she was on the ground under his shield as Sir Black held it over her and deflected blows with his sword at the same time, until Sir Red climbed out of the carriage. He grabbed the shield from Sir Black and nodded to Chloe to get up. 

“Lets go!” 

Chloe shook herself and remembered his instructions. 

Skirts. She gathered all that she could and hugged it to her chest in a big ball of fabric safely away from her feet. Check. 

Stay Low. She rose into a crouch keeping her head tucked, still safe under the large shield. Check. 

Stay close. She hunched up close to the Black knights back and Red knight shouted. 

“GO!” 

Sir Black began to move forward. Metal on metal rang out and filled Chloe’s ears, but she remained close to the back of that powerful but lithe knight. He was moving fast, slashing, dodging and deflecting a clear path along the side of the carriage, passed the panicking horses, and seemingly straight into the fray of battle. 

Sir Red remained behind her, covering the rear. Although he was deflecting and dodging attacks from the back at the same time, the shield never once strayed from its spot above Chloe’s head. She was extra diligent to keep her skirt from falling under his feet and tripping him up. 

She knew she should feel fearful, but there was something about being tucked so perfectly between the two most powerful knights in the kingdom. Watching them fight up close, witnessing their skill and power, was something of a dream of Chloe’s. She had always wondered what the adrenaline of battle felt like, and now she couldn't help but feel alive.

There was fighting on all sides then, and just when Chloe began to falter, the black knight was climbing onto a horse. 

She looked at the large black flank suddenly in front of her. Mind going blank in awe that she would be climbing onto the noblest steed which she had seen so many times from her palace window. 

His pure black coat was shiny up close, and the rippling muscles under his skin were more visible. 

She didn’t have time to fully appreciate the animal before Red had grabbed her heel and Black was grabbing her hand and she was being hoisted up into the saddle in front of the Knight. 

From that perch she could see everything.

The Black Knights horse didn’t wait to move, as soon as Red passed up the shield the animal surged forward. The Black Knight wrapped the shield safely around Chloe as they plowed through the fray. 

She didn’t know where it came from but the Black Knight had a spear now, and with the shield on one side he was using it to deflect anything from the other, while the horse moved through the people mercilessly. 

Before she knew what was happening Sir Red appeared beside them again, on their same level, as he was atop his own magnificent Mare. The same horse that always stood next to the black steed, her sleek chestnut coat sitting tight over her agile muscles. She had one large black spot, in the centre of her forehead. The Red Knight and his horse fell in line in front of them before Chloe could continue admiring the animal. 

As they went on Chloe expected to see an end to the fighting, but it didn’t come. All of the guards were occupied in battle. 

Her father had opted to protect her with a small army, and whoever this was had come with a small army of their own. 

They reached the log that was downed on the road. Chloe panicked for a moment, thinking they had nowhere to go, but both horses sailed over the log as if it were nothing. Without even a proper running start. 

The Red knight chose to veer into the forest, and as dark as it had been, the plunge into the uncharted wood, was worse.


	4. A Horizon Called War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe's Perspective

Chloe looked around, but at the speed they were travelling, her eyes couldn’t adjust to the dark shadows. The trees were thick, that was evident from the many branches that whipped her arms and brushed her face. Though the sound of branches smacking on the shield in front of her told her she was escaping the worst of it.  
The occasional gleam of a sun ray bouncing of Sir Red’s armour indicated that they were following him, but she didn’t have any idea how he knew where to go. She couldn’t see a thing, but the steps of the beast beneath her remained sure, never wavering. Could horses see in the dark?  
The trees began to thin out, and the light filtered in less obstructed, but the shadow still outnumbered the light when Sir Red finally slowed down.  
“Are you alright princess?” Sir Black said from right behind her.  
“NO.” she tried not to shout, to little avail. “My envoy was just attacked! My arms are all scratched up! What is going to happen?”  
She chastised herself, she hadn’t meant to sound so scared. She was slightly in shock still, but she wasn’t scared, not as long as they were with her, but she was so used to lashing out, hiding her true feelings from her people, her court, her parents.  
“I do apologize princess, for the rough ride, but we had to get away. We’re safe now, so do not worry, we’ll have you back to the palace where you’ll be taken care of in no time.”  
She felt herself relax. Even though she had been unnecessarily curt with him, he seemed un-bothered and his voice was soothing. The Red knight however, looked even more tense.  
“Right. I’m sorry for being so curt.”  
“Nothing to worry about your majesty, I’m sure this has all been very shocking for you.”  
So he was nice. She had always had a feeling they would be nice. She observed them whenever she could, always from afar, time and again, dreaming endlessly of fighting by their sides. Though they fought fiercely for the safety of all the kingdom’s people, they always struck her as kind.  
“What about the marriage alliance?”  
“Not sure your highness, but something tells me it may be off. There was Xazier insignia on some of the attackers' armor.”  
“Could have been a trap.” Sir Red finally spoke up. “I hear a stream up ahead, we’ll stop to water the horses.”  
They came to a small clearing. After dismounting, Sir Black helped Chloe climb off the horse. She found her knees to be somewhat weak, and she stumbled over to the bank of the river and plopped down. She examined the scratches on her arms as best she could in the dim light.  
“You think you can figure out where we are?” Sir Red asked Sir Black.  
The black knight nodded. He ran towards a tree and ran up its trunk, catching hold of the lowest branch. He hauled himself on top of it. Chloe imagined it must be a lot of weight with all of his armour, but he managed it quite well, even making it look easy as he began to climb, ascending into the darkness.  
Both horses approached the stream on either side of Chloe, as if they were protecting her, and she felt more safe than scared in between the immense animals.  
“Please clean my scratches.” She said, holding out her arm and looking at the red knight. He stared at her for a second. She realized how absolutely snobby and obnoxious she sounded, but she didn’t know any other way.  
“We’re knights. Not ladies maids.” he said. Icily turning his shoulders away to look up into the trees.  
The black knight dropped, seemingly from nowhere, right into the middle of the clearing. He landed surprisingly well, in an agile crouch that made way less noise than it should have.  
“North, South, East, West.” He pointed to each direction respectively.  
“Thanks.” Sir Red turned and stomped off into the woods “Watch her.” he barked.  
The Black knights shoulders dropped a little and he turned to Chloe, tilting his head.  
“I offended him.” she said, downcast. Of course you offended him, she told herself, by treating him like some servant, pull it together.  
“No no, he’s just crabby that this all happened. He doesn’t like complications, he takes his job very seriously.”  
“I can see that in the good work he does every day. I hope he knows the kingdom is lucky to have him, especially when there are complications.”  
“That’s very kind of you highness. I’ll be sure to pass it on. Let me go talk to him. Sit tight, Plagg and Tikki will protect you.” he headed into the woods after the red knight.  
Between the two horses she identified the chestnut mare with the perfect black circle on her forehead, as Tikki, and the pitch black stallion as Plagg. Tikki was also much more friendly than Plagg, as she allowed Chloe to tenderly stroke her nose. Plagg threw his head and snorted any time she tried to touch him. She stopped trying very quickly. She found it interesting that both horses seemed to be the opposite personalities of their riders.  
She looked over at the woods where the knights had disappeared. What was taking them so long? Sure it hadn’t been so long, but it was long enough to make her impatient.  
She got up and made her way to the edge of the clearing, she could hear their voices in the trees. It grew darker once again as she followed the voices. One could have almost been convinced it was night.  
The murmur grew and she finally saw them, two silhouettes sitting on a log. They had their backs turned to her and their helmets off. They were talking in hushed tones so she instinctively stopped dead.  
As her eyes adjusted she could make out a shock of blonde hair atop the black knights head. It was shaggy and positively golden. The Red knight had a long black braid snaking down his back. His shoulders were still tense.  
Chloe didn’t dare get closer, but she still couldn’t make out what exactly they were saying. The black knight lifted a hand though and hit the red knights arm in a playful punch and that seemed to do it.  
The crimson clad shoulders fell with a long sigh and then began shaking as he laughed at something Sir Black had said. They both seemed to relax and Chloe’s heart ached. She had never had a friend like that. Being cooped up in the castle at all times. Told how to dress, how to act, how to eat, who to marry. They seemed so free and powerful. She was the princess but she didn’t feel powerful. She didn’t really have power over anything at all.  
She stared at Sir Red’s long braid, and when he turned his head to look at the black knight, Chloe was shocked to realize his profile was surprisingly femenine...could it be…?  
Behind her there was the thump of an enormous hoof on the earth and a huff of breath followed by a nicker.  
She looked back startled, to see both horses had silently followed behind her. They stepped forward, forcing her closer to the two knights who were now looking straight at her, alerted by the noise. She took a step to avoid being crushed by one of the horses and tumbled over a root. She looked up sheepishly to see the two knights standing over her, Sir Red’s helmet was now back on.  
Sir Black kneeled hastily to help her up.  
“Are you alright princess?”  
“Yes...I...was just…”  
“Spying?” the red knight asked. His shoulders were tense again and she studied his form very carefully. He was quite a lot smaller than the Black knight, his frame was much more slim, but the bulk of the armor made it impossible to tell anything for sure. Besides he couldn’t be a girl, women were not allowed to become knights. Chloe knew that, since she had asked.  
“No...I was just…”  
“Coming to fetch us. You’re quite right majesty, we should be going.” the black knight looked at the red knight as he helped Chloe off the ground. He seemed to be communicating something, but as Chloe couldn’t tell what that might be, she figured it must be her imagination.  
The rest of the ride went without a hitch. Chloe continued to ride with the black knight on Plagg, who seemed to have no problem with her as long as his rider was there. They seemed to know exactly where they were going after that, and they got closer and closer to the edge of the woods.  
The light began to filter through the branches, and they found the path that would lead back to the kingdom. It was fairly deserted, so they rode along it without much worry.  
They came out of the woods and back along the road until the kingdom was in view.  
None of them said anything, which left plenty of room for Chloe’s head to swim with everything that had just happened. Including the fact that her hero, the red knight, seemed to hate her, and with good reason. Every time she opened her mouth to him she sounded like a brat.  
They rode into the palace gates before Chloe even knew it.  
“Home sweet home, princess.” The black knight said as servants ran frantically from the palace. Her father came barreling down the steps and all the fuss began.  
He helped her down and that was the last she saw of him or Sir Red. She was surrounded by attendants and servants and whisked away before she knew what to do. She tried to get a glimpse back, to see the two knights again, thank them or something, prove to them she wasn’t just a spoiled brat, but they were lost in the crowd.  
The palace had heard about the attack, a messenger had ridden back to inform them. It had been a collaborative attack between Xzazier and some unknown mercenaries with a purple moth as their insignia. The whole marriage alliance was a trap, an attack against the king through an attack on his daughter.  
Nobody told Chloe what was going on, but her father was livid, and suddenly him and all his advisors were in the war council room. She knew what would happen. She let her servants bathe her and pamper her and dress her wounds as she thought and thought. There had to be a way to prevent war, their kingdom couldn’t afford war right now.  
A strange still came over the castle the next few days. As if everyone were holding their breaths. Chloe wasn’t allowed out of her quarters, and her father, she was informed by her most trusted lady’s maid Sabrina, never left the war council room.  
One day Chloe finally managed to sneak away. Her ladies maids had left her for the evening which gave her an opening.  
The castle seemed deserted and empty, she couldn’t find a single soul. She made her way to the training ground. She had watched the young knights many times on this training ground, being taught the basics of swordplay.  
She walked over to one of the weapons racks, lined with large training swords with dulled edges. Impulsively she picked one up. It was heavy, heavier than she expected and she almost dropped it, but she managed to hold it up with both hands. She held the leather grip firmly and raised it in front of her.  
She wanted to wield a sword like this. She wanted to fight for her people. She wondered what would happen if she had been allowed to study swordplay from a young age. If instead of singing, and harp, and embroidery, and sitting still, and only speaking when spoken to, she had been taught battle strategy, economics and leadership. Where would she be? Would she still be helpless to help her people in the face of war?  
She gripped the sword with more determination and gave it a practice swing.  
There was a noise behind her and she turned to see a sword bearing down on her. She couldn’t think, she only raised the practice sword and deflected it.  
Was it an intruder? How had they gotten in?  
The clash of metal sent a shock wave through both of her arms. The blow was too much and she was knocked off balance, falling back into the mud.  
The attacker was small, in shiny emerald green armor. He lifted his sword again and brought it down as she crawled backwards in the mud. She struggled but lifted her own sword again to block the attack. He swung his sword around and sent her own flying.  
She wanted to scream, but something in her gut told her not to.  
“Who are you!?” she shouted as drops of water began to fall from the sky.  
He swung at her again. She kicked into gear, rolling out of the way and dashing for her sword. Her bare feet slipped in the mud but she managed to grab it and stand up, ready for another attack. Her arms shook with the effort of simply holding the sword, but she didn’t waver. He came at her again and she remembered all of the training classes she had watched, deflecting with everything she had. Each blow sent her more off balance, but she managed to come back just enough to deflect the next one.  
He kicked her feet out and she fell to the ground. He raised his sword again and she lifted her hand, closing her eyes and bracing for what was to come.  
Instead of a blow, she heard a voice.  
“Lesson one. Your hand will do nothing for you. Use what you have and do not give up until you are dead.”  
She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He was standing with his sword raised, but he wasn’t striking. She noticed that his sword was also dull.  
She thought about his words and immediately kicked out her feet, sending him crashing to the ground. She scrambled up again holding her sword at the ready.  
“Good” He said, pulling himself up off the ground.  
“Who are you?” she asked again.  
“I am master Fu.” he said. Her jaw dropped.  
“You trained the Miraculous knights.” she said, breathless.  
“That I did. And now I will train you.”  
“Why now?”  
“I’ve had a premonition that they will need help soon. That we all will, and I’ve seen your determination when watching the lessons, all your life. You will fight for your people yet princess. Meet me here tonight, after dark, and we will begin your first lesson.”  
“Yes master.” she said.  
She went to sheath her sword, only to remember she was in a muddy nightgown and had no sheath. She blushed and dropped it to her side.  
“Sir if you trained the miraculous knights, could you take me to them? I’ve been wanting to see them and thank them ever since they saved me from the ambush.”  
“They are not here.” He said simply  
“What...whe…”  
“They are headed for the battlefield. The army was sent out this morning, your majesty, following your fathers declaration of war. The miraculous knights rode out with them and will join the frontlines.”  
“What…?” she felt breathless suddenly, collapsing to the ground. “War?”  
“We all knew it was coming.”  
“But I thought maybe…”  
“It would wait a little while? I understand, but it is here now, and so we must face it the best that we can. Soon your people will be leaning on you princess.”  
She nodded and looked up at the gloomy sky.  
Out on the fields the miraculous knights were looking at that same sky. An army was looking at that sky.  
The grey cloud spanning as far as you could see, the thunder rumbling quietly, from lightning that was farther above the clouds than could be seen.  
It was in the air at that moment, the realization, the eerie truth, there was blood on the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed. I know this was a bit of a long one. I just wanted to hop on and apologize for all the exposition there at the end. I needed to connect this chapter to the next section of the story but I didn't want to drag it out by trying to show you everything. I also just wanted to explain myself because I know that I sort of flipped the Adrien and Chloe narratives in this fic, but that was a choice I made in order to explore different aspects of the characters I personally find more compelling. With that said, I feel I've altered all of their characters a little bit, so I'm trying to keep them consistent within my own story, instead of consistent with the show. I would really love any constructive criticism and feedback that you guys may have as I am a fetus writer attempting to hone my craft. Thanks again for reading, have a good one, and I'll see you next fortnight!


	5. A Ride Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A time skip

Marinette yawned, fatigue weighing heavy on her shoulders. With the battlefront growing steadily further away she felt her spirits risin. Though she wasn’t sure exactly what it was they were heading back to.  
The messenger had reached the frontlines in the middle of the night with a letter from the king, safe in his castle Marinette thought bitterly, that requested the miraculous knights return to the kingdom. There hadn’t been more information than that.  
She was glad for the break anyhow. The sun seemed too bright, and the sky too blue, for the reality that was the war happening only miles away. The stalemate had gone on for months, and Marinette forgot what it felt like to not be fighting.  
They would likely be straight back at it once they returned, but the walk back was a nice breather. She looked over to her partner. He had his helmet off, tucked under his arm. His golden hair blew gently in the breeze. Though he looked perfectly content, and happy, she could see the bags under his eyes and the slight droop to his shoulders.  
He had been limping ever since he received an injury to his knee a few weeks ago, and sometimes she caught him sitting down massaging it, brows furrowed in pain. She tried to approach and help him, but the moment he noticed her his pain seemed to vanish and his bright smile returned as if it had never been gone.  
He never failed to throw a witty comment or a comical flirtation, even in dire circumstances, but any time she saw him by himself he seemed to have a shadow over his head. She wanted to help, tell him he didn’t have to pretend, but she had never been good at talking to people about stuff like that, she had never been good with people in general, and she didn’t want to make it worse.  
“Do you think something is going on back home, for them to call us back?” His voice startled her out of her thoughts. She welcomed the distraction. It stressed her to the point of sweaty palms to think about him suffering in any way, or to think of talking to him about it.  
“Not sure.” She said.  
“Hmmmm” his rich hum filled the air like honey, “I hope we’ll get a bit of a break, I would love to get a good night's sleep, haven’t had one of those in forever.”  
“We’ll have to be vigilant, if they’re calling us back we may have our work cut out for us yet.”  
“Oh of course m’lady, but it doesn’t hurt to dream. You should know I always sleep with one eye open anyway.”  
“Hmpf, and how would I know that?”  
“Because you watch me sleep of course. Admiring my beauty, my serene face as I enjoy a peaceful slumber.”  
“I do not watch you sleep.”  
“Of course you do, I’ve seen you. When I’ve woken up, and you avert your eyes really quick so I won’t notice but I still do.” he tapped the side of his forehead “very observant”  
She couldn’t muster any annoyance, only a smile. She had missed their banter.  
“I was probably looking at you because you were snoring, and I got annoyed, and was contemplating bashing your head in to get you to stop.” she said.  
“My lady!” he placed an offended hand against his chest and looked at her, aghast. “I do not snore, how could you suggest such a thing? You wound me.”  
“Of course you snore! Loudly too! You sound like a pig giving birth.”  
He fought to repress the snort that almost escaped, hiding his smile by dramatically whipping his head away from her to sulk.  
“A pig! Giving birth! Of all the things she could have said, Plagg, can you believe her?”  
“OH you don’t believe me? Shall I reenact it for you?” she exhaled dramatically and with her inhale she let loose a most impressive snort. She heard him fight a jolly laugh, by snorting himself which sent them both into giggles.  
He kept his face turned away, taking deep breaths to settle his laughter then turned to her. Trying desperately to seem upset but being unable to keep the smile off his face.  
“I do not sound like that m’lady, but I must say, that was a remarkably good pig impression.”  
“You’re in denial, and thank you. I practice my pig impressions often for occasions such as these.”  
He smiled again but looked away.  
“I do not snore.” he mumbled “And you’ll never convince me otherwise.”  
“And how would you know exactly? You’re asleep! But who’s awake? Who’s watching you while you sleep? Who’s the expert on this subject.That would be me! You snore, get over it.”  
His eyes lit up, and his smile turned mischievous.  
“So you admit you do watch me while I’m sleeping.”  
“I didn’t say that.”  
“Yes you did. You said ‘who watches you while you sleep? That would be me!’ you admitted to it, admit it!”  
“You’re impossible.” She looked ahead to the road again. Shaking her head, trying desperately to come up with some reply wittier than that.  
The sunshine chuckle escaped his lips.  
Oh it was beautiful, light and happy as ever. The little chortles of his glorious laughter filled the air like music and she felt her stress dissipate. It was then that she realized how long it had been since she heard his chuckle, and how much she had missed it.  
She turned her face to the breeze, sucking in a long content breath. The crisp clean air filled her lungs. There was no shouting, no taste of metal from the blood on her lips, nor the smell of smoke from the fires that raged, started by the sparks from the clashing swords. The battlefield was a dark place as the smoke blocked out the sky and the fighting was the only thing that existed.  
She closed her eyes imagining the darkness, but as the warmth of his slowly fading chuckle filled her ears a memory flared. A light in the darkness of battle, always cracking jokes, dishing out compliments, taunting the enemy, a shock of golden blonde, a flash of caring green, the image was clear in her mind of a partner always present, watching her back.  
The times they were surrounded by enemies, hostility all around them, swords aimed to kill, she never had to worry about them coming in from all sides because he was always watching her blind spot. She wondered briefly what she would do if he wasn’t there to lighten the depression of war.  
She shook her head, she didn’t want to even think about that.  
Looking over at him she saw that he was basking as well, face turned to the sun, eyes closed contentedly. She smiled fondly at him, thankful that he couldn’t see just how much warmth there was in her gaze.  
“How long has it been?” she turned her face towards the road again. “Since the war started?”  
“Four months.” he graciously allowed her the change in subject.  
“Do you think it’s changed much?” She said as they came over the eastern hill, the kingdom coming into view, sprawled out on the prairie before them.  
“We’ll find out soon.” he said opening his eyes and looking down at the houses.  
She felt a sort of dread rising in her heart. She would rather keep walking alongside Chat, talking about anything, basking in the sun. She felt guilty that she felt that way, people were counting on her, people back on the frontlines were covering their positions so they could leave, all around people were making sacrifices and they needed to be able to count on her.  
As they made their way into the kingdom the air seemed to get darker, under an invisible shadow that she couldn’t explain. With each step towards the castle they took, her stomach dropped a little in apprehension of what they might find.  
There may have been nothing to make her uneasy, but in her time as a knight she had learned to trust her instincts, and her instincts were telling her something was off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all,  
> Here we are, better late than never I suppose. Sorry for the slight delay, I had it all written up but the day came and I honestly just completely forgot. Also I apologize not much happened in this chapter, it's really just another transition chapter, but things will start to go down next fortnight, I hope you enjoyed this in the meantime and I'll see you then. Cheers.


	6. An Ambush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When more things go wrong.

Upon entrance to the castle Marinette knew something was very wrong. There were no guards anywhere. No people, anywhere. It was like a strange ghost town. Ladybug and Chat Noir both dismounted in the royal stable, leaving Tikki and Plagg to rest, and walked into the courtyard, they were let in by two guards.

“Where is everybody?” She asked the guards. They looked at each other awkwardly.

“Inside sir.”

“Why is everybody inside? Why are you the only ones posted?”

“Sir Red,” Chat called warrily over his shoulder.

She shook her head and left the two guards at the gate, moving to look at the object of Chats attention.

“There’s something going on in the palace, can you hear that?”

She looked up the stairs in response. Listening in the eerie quiet for the sound that was finding the black knights ears.

“M’lady I have a bad feeling about this.”

Then she heard it, shouting, and the unmistakable sound of swords finding each other in battle, it was faintly growing louder.

She unhooked her mace, ready to charge into the palace when a swooshing sound came from behind her, she whipped around just in time to see a sword bearing down on her head. It was too late to react, she could only get away, but before she could, Chat Noir’s Rapier came flying into her field of vision, maneuvering itself between her and the assailant just in time. Blades clashed and Chat put himself in between them bearing down on his opponent with deadly accuracy.

Palace guards began appearing from around everywhere, from behind column’s and through arches, but before Marinette could even feel reassurance at the arrival of aid, they began charging. Their intent was clear.

“Don’t they know who we are?” Chat shouted as his sword continued to fend off the onslaught of attacking guards.

“I don’t think that’s the problem.” Marinette said as she knocked the helmet off one’s head. He was rough looking, with missing teeth and roughly braided hair. He had a ring in his nose.

“A mercenary?” Chat stopped for only a moment to glance at the mean looking man. “How did they get their hands on palace uniforms?”

“I have no idea.” she responded blocking another swing.

The door at the top of the palace steps flew open with a loud crash, and two guards ran out. Being dragged between them was a blubbering and barely conscious man. The king.

There were palace guards pursuing them but they were being held back by fake palace guards and there was little to no way to tell who was trying to accomplish what.

One part of Marinette's brain filled with dread, they had the king, that was the worst thing that could happen, while a small part at the back of her mind rolled its eyes over how useless he was.

The king served as a long enough distraction for her enemy to get ahead of her.

“Ladybird!” She heard Chat call and when she swung around there was a sword lunging at her. She berated herself, allowing her attention to be drawn away in battle, but before she could feel the burst of pain a large black blur flashed and Chat was in front of her. Her heart stopped for a moment as she heard him howl in pain.

Then he was lunging straight back and had completely decapitated the assailant in one clean swoop. The whole thing went too fast for her to realize but when he turned back to her he was holding his arm.

It was the second time his reflexes had saved her from her carelessness but she found herself only able to thank god it hadn’t cost him his life.

“Ladybird go get the king!” Chat called

“I can’t…”

“The king takes priority right now, if they take him away the kingdom will implode. You know I’m right, go!” and they were both engaged in battle again.

She knocked her opponents down as they came and headed for the palace stairs.

It had happened twice in one day that she’d been caught off guard, she turned her focus on, it wouldn’t happen again.

Leaving chat behind in a swarm of fake palace guards, she made quick work of the enemies blocking her from the stairs.

Attention turned fully on retrieving the king, she pushed down the urge to look back and check on Chat and focused on her own battles. Making her way swiftly up the palace steps and to the three men.

The two men dragging the king stopped on the stairs witnessing her swift arrival, their body language said they wanted to turn and run, but before they could make up their minds she sent them both flying with a few agile maneuvers and two well placed swings of her mace.

She caught the king's arm around her shoulder and bore the majority of his weight. Another attacker ascended the stairs towards them.

“Your Majesty! Your majesty snap out of it we need to get out of here”

She knew she couldn’t carry his dead weight alone and fight off attackers as long as he was blubbering like an idiot.

“How?....” he spluttered “...My palace…? How…?”

She focused on her newest attacker but it took more strength to deflect him as she only had one arm now.

“Your majesty, stand up now!” She said “we have to go”

She resisted a strong urge to slap him.

From the chaos below she heard the latter end of a loud order.

"...Retreating! Bring the black knight!”

She looked down the stairs to where her partner was quickly becoming surrounded. Just as her eyes found him in the fray, she became transfixed by his situation, unable to look away in horror. He was sluggish from old injuries, as well as new ones, and his stamina, already nearly spent from the months of battle, was running out fast.

In an instant his sword was no longer in his hands, clattering away between the feet of his many opponents. The man who had disarmed him was menacingly big, at least as tall as Chats green plume, and now he was taking a swing at Chat’s head.

Chat managed to get his shield up in time to catch the blow, but a second attacker came from behind with a forceful blow aimed at his legs.With both blows delivered simultaneously from opposite sides, his legs were violently swept from beneath him and he crashed to the ground.

His helmet went flying from his head as one attacker stepped on the inside of his shield, pinning his arm.  
With delayed but still impressive agility he freed his arm from the straps and rolled away. He swung himself up onto his knees and tried to gain his bearings, but the large man was already right behind him, sword raised.

“CHAT NOIR” She couldn’t stop the dread in her stomach from manifesting as a terrified warning call.

Comprehension dawned on his distant features at the sound of her voice, and in frantic confusion he looked around to find where it came from.

“Ladybird?” he called back. His voice sounded dazed, lost, and it broke her heart.

The butt of the sword cracked down from behind, clean on the back of his head.

Consciousness left his form as swiftly as a candle being blown out. All she could do was watch as his limbs crumpled, useless beneath him and he collapsed in a heap on the ground.

She felt a panicked need to be by his side, protect him... but the king.

Looking back to the blubbering man on her arm, she caught a glimpse past him to another enemy, seemingly from nowhere. Too close to block, she had let herself get distracted again. No. She had only time to think to herself.

Before the enemy could make contact however, there was a flash of golden hair...and… was that pink?  
With a clash and a bang the fake palace guard went flying down the stairs and none other than Princess Chloe turned to her.

Possibly the most unusual sight Marinette had ever seen, with Her golden curls shaken loose from their due and falling around her face, and her poofy pink dress splattered with the blood of enemies she had already cut down. In her two dainty, pale hands, she wielded a large double edged sword with surprising might and accuracy.

After cutting down one more enemy she positioned herself at the other side of the king.

“I’ll take care of my father,” She said looking directly at Marinette “Go help your comrade.”  
It went against Marinette’s better judgement to leave the king in the hands of the princess, but with the skills just displayed by the young monarch, and the image of Chat crumpling to the ground replaying in her mind, Marrinete nodded once to the princess and took off down the stairs.

While she still had an elevated vantage point she looked back to where the Black Knight had collapsed, but he was no longer there. She quickly scanned the courtyard and caught sight of him being hauled through an archway. With his body hanging limp between two men, his head hung, nauseatingly lifeless.

She launched herself off the stairs and ran towards the archway.

Most of the mercenaries had retreated, but a few remained to cover the retreat. They each got in her path to stop her and she defeated them each in turn with ease. Her focus was turned on now, and her motivation was strong to save her partner.

She burst through the archway into the training ground in time to see the group spur their horses, riding off into the city with Chat draped across the pack of one horse.

Before she could pursue, there was a massive battle axe bearing down on her head. She dodged it and sized up her attacker. Large, powerful, easy to evade, but reach too wide to go around, and he stood directly in her way.

He swung a few more times which she easily avoided and when he raised his axe way above his head and aimed straight down at her she crouched. He swung and she sidestepped by an inch, stepping on the back of the axe now imbedded in the ground and running up the handle, she launched her mace into his head and he crumbled to the ground.

She turned to see Plagg and Tikki run onto the training ground, headed for the direction Chat was taken.

They always seemed to sense when something was up and come running, she just hoped it wasn’t too late this time.

She ran in the same direction they escaped and caught hold of Tikki as she barreled by, swinging herself up into the saddle.

They rode through the streets of the city, Marinette tried in vain to hear the echo of retreating hooves, but there were no signs of them. Plagg barreled on ahead, at first with conviction, and though she felt silly about it, she took to letting the horses decide where to go, she felt that Plagg would be able to find the Black Knight easier, and so she let Tikki follow him.

When he began slowing however and giving snorts and grunts of frustration, her hope faded. Maybe she shouldn’t have followed a horse.

They came to a stop in a square and she looked in circles.

“CHAT?” She knew she would receive no answer but she had to express her frustration and she refused to cry.

“CHAT!?”

Tikki gave a sad whinny beneath her.

Plagg trotted to all corners of the square, becoming more and more agitated. It was as if he was looking for his rider, like he was trying to sense him but couldn’t. The intuition of their horses often confused her, and Marinette didn’t know how much they did or didn’t understand, but in that moment she knew that Plagg knew what had happened.

He reared and let out a distressed nicker, crashing a bunch of crates beneath his massive hooves. Marinette shook her head, focusing herself. She knew how destructive Plagg was when he wasn’t calm. There was only one person who kept him calm easily, and that person was unconscious on the back of a horse, god knew where. She hopped off Tikki and approached Plagg.

“Plagg” She said in a calm voice “Easy boy, easy.” He stopped rearing but he still tossed his head to and fro and stomped his hooves. “Atta boy, easy.” Narrowly avoiding his swinging nose “Shh, shh.” He threw his head again, but his feet were still.

Tikki came up beside him and that seemed to do the trick. He paused long enough for Marinette to grab his reins and she began gently stroking his nose. Looking into his wild green eyes she saw an anguish that mirrored her own.

“I know.” she suppressed a sob. “I know.” She placed her forehead against his big black one and he let out a sad puff of air “We’ll find him. We will.” She realized that she was reassuring herself, just as much as she was reassuring the horse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry for the cliffhanger but it had to be done. I hope you have a good day, or whatever it is round your part of the world and I'll see you next fortnight.


	7. An Unexpected Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe makes her case.

Chloe sat beside her fathers bed while the servants busied around and fussed about. They placed cool cloths on his head and smelling salts under his nose. His muttering continued but it was more coherent now. 

“How did they get into my palace? How dare they?… I am the king... They can’t infiltrate my palace… How did this happen? Chloe my princess are you alright?” 

“I’m alright father.” She assured him.

She knew it was an awful thing that happened, her father had almost been taken, and he could have been killed, but she still felt exhilarated. Finally her months of training had come to fruition, and she was able to actually help. And now sitting at the bedside of her father, whom she had just saved, she was itching only to leave. She wanted to continue helping the Red Knight pursue the attackers.

However her father being delirious at the time of her gallantry, still hadn’t realized that it was her who saved him, nor had he realized that she could use a sword at all, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to break that to him now. 

An attendant came into the chambers and announced 

“...Sir Red has returned.” 

“And where the Bloody Hell did he go!?!?’ The king exploded. “Why was he not by my side the instant this all happened? Him and Sir Black. They should both be by my side now. Send for him at once, they must protect me. What if that wasn’t all? What if there’s another attack?” 

The attendant rushed out as the king continued to ramble. 

“”Father…” Chloe interrupted “They had only just returned from the battlefield...they couldn’t have been by your side if they wanted to.” 

“Well as soon as they got back they should have come to me immediately.” 

“They tried. Besides they couldn’t have known you were going to be attacked.” 

The Red Knight came storming through the door. Seeing his shoulders tense as anything made Chloe’s heart drop a little. 

“Did you get Sir Black?” she asked in a small voice. 

“WHat!? What happened to the man? Sir Red where is Sir Black?!” her father barked. 

“He’s been captured.” The Red knight remained tense, but his voice was surprisingly calm. “I will launch a rescue mission as soon as you grant me the men. I won’t need many...” 

“You will do nothing of the sort. If these are people who can best the Black Knight then my life is in serious danger. You will stay here and guard me personally. You cannot let this happen again!” 

“With all due respect your majesty. We will never find out how they got into the palace if we do not catch them, and we will never catch them if I don’t go after Sir Black, myself, now.”

“I don’t care how they got in as long as it doesn’t happen again!” 

“But as long as we don’t know how they got in we cannot prevent it from happening again…”

“BAH I will not have you arguing with me! I will send some other guards to go after them and find that all out, but you are to stay directly by my side at all times now, do you understand?” 

“I will not stay in the palace as long as I know my partner is in enemy hands.” His calm tone vanished “Those other guards can protect you. I will go by myself if you will not grant me any men. If you’ll excuse me” The red knight turned for the door with fists clenched so tight they were shaking. Her father was being an oaf, just like she had been in the forest that time, and it was about to send the red knight over the edge. 

“I forbid you from leaving the castle! Why oh why god did they have to take the knight that ever had any decent sense of decorum. You always were a rude bullheaded young fellow, unwise in the ways of talking to your superiors. I am your king and you will stay by my side!” 

“I will not.” The ice in his response was enough to cool the entire room. All the staff had frozen, and even Chloe, as insensitive to others as she could be, picked up on the tension. Her father, however, did not. Or he did not care, she did not know which. 

“Are You Opposing Me!?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. 

“Yes…” 

“Father!” Chloe interrupted. “I know you want Sir Red to protect you, but what about me?” she channeled the innocent pout she had perfected over the years to get her way “Who else is good enough to protect me in all this…?” 

The red knight was still a statue, but now he was looking at her. She only hoped that he would pick up on the fact that she was trying to help. 

“Oh my sweet sweet daughter, you’re right, I’m so sorry that was so selfish of me. You…!” he pointed a dramatic hand at the red knight “...will protect my daughter. You will not leave her side until we know that the threat is eliminated. And think carefully how you proceed Sir Red, you are on very thin ice. If you dare oppose me one more time I will make you wish you were never born. Do I make myself clear?” 

Silence filled the air and Chloe held her breath. 

“Of course your majesty.” The red knight finally said. It sounded forced, but at least he was agreeing, she could work with that. The staff all looked like they still wanted to run and hide though. 

Chloe wished she could see the knights face, then maybe she would have a better idea what he was thinking. 

“Well I am tired after all the excitement. I would like to go to my room now.” Chloe said getting up. 

“Of course my dear, you rest well.” 

“You too father, feel better.” 

She walked to the door. Passing the red knight as she went. She tried to communicate to him that she was his ally, but his posture didn’t change, his head only swivelled on his neck, following her as she walked by. 

She heard a little sigh. He bowed to the King and then turned to follow her. They walked into the hall and followed it silently to her bedroom.

Once she had gingerly shut the door she turned and looked at him. His helmet was facing her, and even though she had no proof his eyes were actually on her, it still felt like he was staring at her. She had never realised how short he was before, he was nearly eye level with her. He performed so many grand feats of heroism it made his height seem irrelevant. And standing in front of him this way still made her feel small.

They spoke simultaneously then. 

“I’m sorry about him.” 

“Where did you learn to fight like that?” 

“Oh…” she instinctively grabbed a strand of her hair. “I’ve had a sword master teaching me the art ever since the attack on my caravan.” 

“I see…” His tone was slightly lighter now. Maybe he would compliment her, praise her skills. She found herself holding her breath in anticipation.

“I have no intention of staying here, but I’m assuming those less than subtle looks you’ve been giving me ment you knew that already.” 

Chloe blinked. 

“Oh...yes that’s why I convinced him to let you guard me. To help you get out. I can ask him to go and stay in the spring palace.” her head began turning, thinking of a plan. “I’ll tell him I feel safer there, and that it would be better if it was just us, that we’d attract less attention, then on our way we can go to Xazier instead…”

“We are not going anywhere. You are staying here, and I’m leaving tonight under cover of darkness.” 

“...but”

“Princess I appreciate your help...on the stairs...and just now with your father, but you needn’t trouble yourself further.” 

“But I can help you!” Chloe felt panicky that he may brush her aside now, after how far she’d come she wouldn’t stand for it “And if you leave my side you’ll anger my father.”

“I don’t care. Quite honestly” He seemed at boiling point again and Chloe knew she wasn’t helping as her tone had turned whiney. 

“You don’t care if my father revokes your knighthood when you get back? What if something happens to Sir Black? You’re all the kingdom has left…” His frozen posture told her she may have said the wrong thing, but she kept going “You can’t keep fighting alone, you’ll need a partner…” 

“Three months of sword training hardly makes you a knight princess.” she had never had such a tone directed at her, it sent chills to her toes. “And I have a partner.” his voice cracked 

She felt dejected...and stupid. Why did she say that of everything she could have said. 

“I’m sorry that’s not what I meant...I mean I can help you get him back. I know I’m not...I know nobody could replace him, that’s not what I’m trying to do...I just want to help.” 

“You would only get in my way.” His voice was steady again after a couple deep breaths he had remembered himself. 

“Was I in your way today? Please give me a chance to do something good. I know I’m pathetic but I’m better than nothing. Then when we get back you and Sir Black can go back to saving the kingdom as usual and you can forget I even exist.” 

“Hardly…” he said bitterly

“Listen, I know I don’t always know best, and I’ll follow every instruction you give me down to the last letter if you let me come with you, but for getting out of the castle the spring palace is the best way. You’ll get what you want without losing the good grace of my father. It’s a win win, and it will only work if I accompany you…” 

He walked over to the window and looked out at the courtyard. His shoulders rose and fell in a large sigh and Chloe held her breath. 

She stared at the floor. She would never forgive herself if she blew this chance, but she feared she had. 

“If you’re going to come with me…” he said flatly “You’re going to need a proper horse.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all, thank you so much for reading!  
> I just wanted to come apologize real quick for my formatting and chapter summaries. I'm very bad at chapter summaries, hopefully one day I'll figure it out and they won't suck so much. Also one day I will get around to re formatting all the chapters so that they're consistent and look nicer. Please bear with me for now.   
> Anyway I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next fortnight. :)


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